The C-reactive protein (CRP) test is a blood test that checks for inflammation in your body. CRP is a protein that is made in your liver and released into your bloodstream. Levels of CRP start to increase very soon after any inflammation or infection affects your body.
The three most commonly used inflammatory markers are called C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and plasma viscosity (PV).
High levels of CRP may mean you have a serious health condition that causes inflammation. Inflammation is your body's way of protecting your tissues and helping them heal from an injury, infection, or other disease. Inflammation can be acute (sudden) and temporary.
A high test result is a sign of inflammation. It may be due to serious infection, injury or chronic disease. Your health care provider may recommend other tests to determine the cause.
Besides C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and procalcitonin (PCT), some other markers of inflammation include serum amyloid A, cytokines, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, plasma viscosity, ceruloplasmin, hepcidin, and haptoglobin.
Over time, heart attack, stroke, or heart failure can occur. This is true even for those with elevated CRP levels who have no obvious symptoms or signs of active inflammation.
Full blood count (FBC)
For example, an FBC may detect signs of: iron deficiency anaemia or vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia. infection or inflammation.
Blood tests known as 'inflammatory markers' can detect inflammation in the body, caused by many diseases including infections, auto-immune conditions and cancers. The tests don't identify what's causing the inflammation: it might be as simple as a viral infection, or as serious as cancer.
Inflammation comes in two forms: acute and chronic. Acute inflammation is the short-term form of inflammation that occurs when you get an injury or contract an infection. It often shows up as redness, swelling, warmth, and pain in the affected area. Chronic inflammation refers to long-term inflammation.
Research has shown that chronic inflammation is associated with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and bowel diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
The most reported new cases involve the lung and breast, with colorectal cancer third, prostate cancer fourth, and stomach cancer fifth (1, 2).
C-reactive protein (CRP) -- a marker of inflammation circulating in the blood already associated with increased risk of heart disease -- can also be used to identify a person's risk of developing colon cancer, according to a Johns Hopkins study.
Severe bacterial infections, such as sepsis. Fungal infections. Osteomyelitis (infection of your bone). Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Higher CRP levels have also been associated with the progression of skin, ovarian, and lung cancer. For this reason, CRP may be used to detect cancer recurrence after surgery [40]. Scientists think the link between high CRP and cancer could be due to three reasons. First of all, high CRP may directly cause cancer.
In cases with markedly raised levels of inflammatory markers (such as ESR >100 mm/h) the likelihood of disease is much higher. The diagnoses found in these conditions depend on study setting, but include infection (33-60%), inflammatory disease (14-30%), and malignancy (5-28%).
In summary, preliminary evidence suggests that acute and chronic stress is associated with increased inflammatory activity and enhanced attentional processing of negative information. Both are predictive of negative mood and depression symptoms that, in turn, increase inflammatory and cognitive stress reactivity.
Substantially raised CRP values are usually found in pneumonia,3-6 and a high CRP value has been shown to be a strong predictor for this disease in general practice. However, raised CRP values may also be found in uncomplicated viral respiratory infections, particularly those caused by influenza virus and adenovirus.
3) Stress. CRP is elevated in chronic stress and may be the link between stress and low-grade inflammation-related diseases. Scientists found that both psychological and social stress significantly impacts CRP [12].
Cyclooxygenase inhibitors (aspirin, rofecoxib, celecoxib), platelet aggregation inhibitors (clopidogrel, abciximab), lipid lowering agents (statins, ezetimibe, fenofibrate, niacin, diets), beta-adrenoreceptor antagonists and antioxidants (vitamin E), as well as angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (ramipril, ...